Author Archives: gokulmuthu

Sadhana Panchakam in the Bhagavad Gita

Posted on December 21, 2020 by gokulmuthu

The Sadhana Panchakam of Sri Adi Sankaracharya is very popular. In that, forty sadhanas (साधना) or spiritual disciplines are given in five verses. Here is a set of five slokas in the Bhagavad Gita that gives a sequence of about … Continue reading →

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How to Get the Most Out of Reading

Posted on November 7, 2020 by gokulmuthu

Knowledge is the most powerful tool of human beings to lead a purposeful life. Next to personal communication with an expert, books are the primary means of transmission of knowledge. It is important to have a structured approach to get … Continue reading →

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Rumi’s Philosophy

Posted on October 31, 2020 by gokulmuthu

(I prepared this as a part of an assignment for a course.) The Sufi tradition claims its origin with the Prophet’s son-in-law Ali abn Abi Talib. It has incorporated the teachings of several spiritual traditions around the world like Christianity, … Continue reading →

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The Three Goddesses of Navaratri

Posted on October 25, 2020 by gokulmuthu

(An edited version of this article was published in the October 2025 issue of Vedanta Kesari, the monthly magazine published from Ramakrishna Math, Chennai.) Navaratri is the annual Hindu festival of worship of God in the form of Goddesses for … Continue reading →

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An Exercise on Introspection

Posted on October 13, 2020 by gokulmuthu

Today in the weekly meeting of Vivekananda Study Circle, IISc, we did this exercise. This is partly based on what was taught by Jayanthi Ma’am in her TA/Psychology/Group Therapy course. It can benefit a lot of people. If you are … Continue reading →

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